RI sees ideal oil price at US$23-$25/barrel
Monday, February 14 2000 - 04:00 AM WIB
Minister of Mines and Energy Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that Indonesia didn't want to see international oil price to soar too high, but wanted to see an ideal price level at between US$23-$25 per barrel.
"For Indonesia's national interest, the higher the oil price the better. But for the sake of price stability and certainty, we think that the range of $23-$25 is an ideal price," Susilo said.
The international oil price currently hovers at around $29 per barrel.
Oil revenue is one of the largest contributor to Indonesia's state budget revenue.
Susilo also said that it's too early to say whether OPEC should increase its production quota, although he admitted that there's been two opposing camps in the oil organization.
But he said that OPEC should anticipate possible decline in oil price in the future to avoid serious trouble to the members' economy. He said that OPEC should cooperate with non-OPEC oil exporting countries to maintains oil price stability.(*)